Duchy

Duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between "sovereign dukes" and dukes who were ordinary noblemen throughout Europe. Some historic duchies were sovereign in areas that would become part of nation-states only during the modern era, such as happened in Germany (once a federal empire) and Italy (previously a unified kingdom). In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that had unified either partially or completely during the medieval era, such as France, Spain, Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States.
Examples
In France, several duchies existed in the medieval period, including Normandy, Burgundy, Brittany, and Aquitaine.
The medieval German stem duchies (literally "tribal duchy," the official title of its ruler being Herzog or "duke") were associated with the Frankish Kingdom and corresponded with the areas of settlement of the major Germanic tribes. They formed the nuclei of the major feudal states that comprised the early era of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation (961-1806; in German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation). These were Schwaben (Swabia, mainly the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg), Bayern (Bavaria), and Sachsen (Saxony) in pre-Carolingian times, to which Franken (Franconia, at present the northern part of the German state of Bavaria) and Lothringen (Lorraine, nowadays mostly part of France) were added in post-Carolingian times. As mentioned above, such a duke was styled Herzog (literally "the one who is leading [the troops]").
In medieval England, duchies associated with the territories of Lancashire and Cornwall were created, with certain powers and estates of land accruing to their dukes. The Duchy of Lancaster was created in 1351 but became merged with the Crown when, in 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, ascended the throne of England as Henry IV. Nowadays, the Duchy of Lancaster always belongs to the sovereign and its revenue is the Privy Purse. The Duchy of Cornwall was created in 1337 and held successively by the Dukes of Cornwall, who were also heirs to the throne. Nowadays, the Duchy of Cornwall belongs to the sovereign's heir apparent, if there is one: it reverts to the Crown in the absence of an heir apparent and is automatically conferred to the heir apparent upon birth. These duchies today have mostly lost any non-ceremonial political role, but generate their holders' private income. During the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York made a successful entry into the City of York, by merely claiming no harm and that it was his right to possess "his duchy of York." Any and all feudal duchies that made up the patchwork of England have since been absorbed within the Royal Family. Other than Cornwall and Lancaster, British royal dukedoms are titular and do not include landholdings. Non-royal dukedoms are associated with ducal property, but this is meant as the duke's private property, with no other feudal privileges attached. At present, all independent (i.e., sovereign) duchies have disappeared.
List of duchies
Baltic provinces and governorates
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
Duchy of Estonia (disambiguation)
Duchy of Livonia
United Baltic Duchy
Croatia
Lower Pannonia
Duchy of Croatia
Pagania
Poljica duchy
Denmark
Duchy of Schleswig
Duchy of Holstein (formally part of the Holy Roman Empire)
England
Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Lancaster
France
Duchy of Anjou
Duchy of Aquitaine
Duchy of Berry
Duchy of Bourbon
Duchy of Brittany
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Gascony
Duchy of Guyenne
Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Orléans
Duchy of Lorraine
Georgia
Duchy of Aragvi
Duchy of Kldekari
Duchy of Ksani
Duchy of Tskhumi
Duchy of Racha
Holy Roman Empire
Duchy of Alsace (in English also 'Alsatia')
Duchy of Austria (later Archduchy of Austria, in German: Erzherzogtum Österreich)
Duchy of Bavaria
Duchy of Bohemia
Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Bremen
Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Carinthia
Duchy of Carniola
Duchy of Franconia
Duchy of Gelders
Duchy of Holstein
Duchy of Jülich
Duchy of Lauenburg
Duchy of Limburg
Duchy of Upper Lorraine
Duchy of Lower Lorraine
Duchy of Luxemburg (a Grand Duchy since 1815; see above)
Duchy of Magdeburg
Duchy of Mecklenburg
Duchy of Oldenburg
Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Salzburg
Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
Duchy of Saxony
Duchy of Styria
Duchy of Swabia
Duchy of Thuringia
Duchy of Westphalia
Duchy of Württemberg
The following duchies were part of the medieval Kingdom of Italy, which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire:
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Mantua
Duchy of Sabbioneta
Duchy of Montferrat
Duchy of Guastalla
Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Duchy of Mirandola
Duchy of Massa and Carrara
Naples
Duchy of Acerenza
Duchy of Apulia
Duchy of Sora
Papal States (Holy See)
Duchy of Ferrara
Duchy of Urbino
Duchy of Camerino
Duchy of Castro
Duchy of Parma
Poland
Duchy of Poland
Duchy of Prussia
Duchy of Warsaw
Slovakia
Duchy of Nitra
Spain
Dukedoms of Spain
Sweden
All provinces of Sweden have the right to have a ducal coronet in their arms. The king gives princes and princesses ducal titles of them. The current such royal duchies are:
Västergötland
Värmland
Gästrikland and Hälsingland combined
Östergötland
Gotland
Ångermanland
Skåne
Södermanland
Dalarna
Blekinge
Halland
Uppland
Crusader states
Duchy of Athens
Duchy of the Archipelago
Duchy of Neopatras
Duchy of Philippopolis
Other current or historical duchies
Duchy of the Franks
Duchy of Lower Pannonia
Duchy of Gascony
Duchy of Limburg
Duchy of Livonia
Duchy of Vasconia
Duchy of Pakualaman
Duchy of Mangkunegaran
See also
Constitutional status of Cornwall
Duchies in England
Fictional duchies
Underland, ruled by Underbeit, on The Venture Brothers
Duchy of Atreides from the Dune series by Frank Herbert
Soleanna from Sonic the Hedgehog
Duchy of Dollet (from Final Fantasy VIII)
Grand Duchy of Jeuno (from Final Fantasy XI)
Duchy of Grand Fenwick
Borogravia, Quirm (from the Discworld series)
Duchy of Sto Helit, in the kingdom of Sto Lat (from the Discworld series)
The Six Duchies (from The Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb)
Zeon (from the Mobile Suit Gundam series, also sometimes translated as a Principality, as the Japanese language does not distinguish between the two)
Erat, Asturia, Mimbre, Wacune (from the Belgariad series)
Crydee, Yabon, Krondor, Olasko, Rillanon, Ran, Rodez, Salador, The Sunset Isles (from the Riftwar saga)
Kolvir, ruled by main character Prince Corwin in The Chronicles of Amber
Freid (from The Vision of Escaflowne series)
Cagliostro from Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Duchy of Nuts from Adventure Time with Finn & Jake
Duchy of Harrington from the Honorverse
Duchy of Toussaint, from The Witcher series.
Duchy of Serkonos, from Dishonored 2
Duchy of Urnst, from the Dungeons & Dragons Greyhawk Campaign Setting.
References
External links
The Duchy of Cornwall official site
Monarchy
Types of administrative division